Failed to publish an address locator stored in a geodatabase or an .sd file that references an address locator stored in a geodatabase from ArcGIS Server 10.4.1 or lower directly to ArcGIS Server 10.5

Error Message

Publishing an existing locator stored in a geodatabase, or an existing sd file that references a locator stored in a geodatabase, from ArcGIS Server 10.4.1 or lower directly to an ArcGIS Server 10.5 fails and returns the following error in the ArcGIS Server logs:

Failed to create the service.: Working with locators in geodatabases is no longer supported.

Cause

Address locators stored in geodatabases are no longer supported starting ArcGIS Enterprise 10.5

Solution or Workaround

1. Copy and paste the address locator from the geodatabase to a file folder in ArcCatalog or use the Data Management > General > Copy geoprocessing tool.
2. Republish the address locator to ArcGIS Server or recreate the SD file.
3. Republish to ArcGIS Server.
   
   Steps to convert an address locator into a Service Definition Draft (.sddraft) file can be found in the following Web Help article:
   CreateGeocodeSDDraft